Exile and Death
The king's pardon being revoked, another formal sentence of treason was proclaimed against Bothwell on 18 February 1594/5, the day of the execution of his half-brother, Hercules. Hercules supported his brother, but was captured with another by John Colville and William Hume, who promised them their lives, but they were then hanged, in spite of much popular sympathy, at the Market Place of Edinburgh."
Till April 1595 Bothwell continued to lurk about Caithness and Orkney but eventually embarked for France landing at Newhaven in Normandy. James VI upon hearing this sent a special messenger to the King of France asking for Bothwell to be banished from France, but the request was declined. After several months Bothwell left for Spain. Between 1598 and 1600 it was rumoured he visited London from Gravelines or Dieppe. James VI heard he was in London with John Colville in August 1598 but did not believe it. Walter Raleigh advised Robert Cecil that Elizabeth should detain Bothwell. Raleigh wrote that Bothwell "will ever be the canker of her estate and safety."
Bothwell lived in poverty in Naples where he died in November 1612. The English ambassador in Venice, Dudley Carleton, reported that Bothwell died at Naples after hearing news of the death of Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, who he had hoped would restore his fortune. The Spanish Viceroy of Naples, Pedro Fernández de Castro y Andrade arranged a lavish funeral for the Scottish earl.
Read more about this topic: Francis Stewart, 5th Earl Of Bothwell
Famous quotes containing the words exile and/or death:
“the bird in the poplar tree
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“Nothing is a matter of life and death except life and death.”
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